Table top game figure

ABSTRACT

A table top game figure mounted on a rotatable shaft, said shaft positioned transversely over a playing field. The figure is rotatable about the axis of the shaft for striking a playing ball to cause movement of the ball generally longitudinally of the playing field toward one of two goals positioned at opposite ends of the playing field. The figure is also moved transversely of the playing field by sliding the shaft upon which it is mounted transversely of the field. The figure includes a foot portion having front and back ball striking surfaces for striking the ball longitudinally of the playing field; the foot portion also includes two sides each including indentations therein forming two ball-contacting edges for contacting and guiding the ball transversely of the playing field.

United States Patent [19] I Kaiser [4 1 Nov. 18, 1975 1 TABLE TOP GAME FIGURE [75] Inventor: Robert B. Kaiser, Phoenix, Ariz.

[73] Assignee: Mirco Games, Inc., Phoenix, Ariz.

[22] Filed: May 23, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 472,856

[52]. U.S. Cl 273/85 D [51] Int. Cl. A63F 7/10 [58] Field of Search 273/85 C, 85 D, 85 F, 94 C, 273/94 D, 94 F, 129 R, 72 R, 85 A, 78, 167 J, 175

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 771,247 10/1904 Hillerich 273/72 R 805,132 11/1905 Gubbins 273/72 R 1.536,6l6 5/1925 Manning... 273/175 3,056,605 10/1962 Alper 273/85 F D217,372 4/1970 Patterson 273/85 C X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 991,037 7/1951 France 273/85 c 390,764 4/1965 Switzerland 273/85 D Germany 273/85 A United Kingdom 273/78 [57] ABSTRACT A table top game figure mounted on a rotatable shaft, said shaft positioned transversely over a playing field. The figure is rotatable about the axis of the shaft for striking a playing ball to cause movement of the ball generally longitudinally of the playing field toward one of two goals positioned at opposite ends of the playing field. The figure is also moved transversely of the playing field by sliding the shaft upon which it is mounted transversely of the field. The figure includes a foot portion having front and back ball striking surfaces for striking the ball longitudinally of the playing field; the foot portion also includes two sides each including indentations therein forming two ball-contacting edges for contacting and guiding the ball transversely of the playing field.

1 Claim, 3 Drawing Figures US. Patent Nov. 18, 1975 jauuaooaoo a oaooooou TABLE TOP GAME FIGURE The present invention pertains to table -,top games, and more particularly, to playing figures utilized in such games' Table top games incorporating figures that are manually operated to strike a ball and which attempt to simulate such games as soccer and hockey arewell known in the prior art. For example, ne such game is shown and described in the patent to Brown, No. 2,832,596. In that game, a deck defining a playing field is provided while a plurality of shafts are mounted over the playing field, each shaft being rotatable about its own axis and slideable transversely of the playing field. One or more striker plates are mounted on the shafts which are utilized to strike a ball toward one of two goals positioned at opposite ends of the playing field.

It has also been known in the prior art to replace the striker arms of the above described Brown game apparatus with figures or figurines characterizing humans such as the playing figure shown in the patent to Leonhart, No. 3,627,322.

Such playing figures typically incorporate a ball striking foot portion so that when the figure is rotated about the axis of the shaft on which it is mounted the foot portion will strike the ball and propel the ball generally longitudinally of the playing field.

As the skill of the operator increases, he becomes adept at maneuvering the ball prior to striking it toward the opponents goal thereby avoiding the opponents playing figures. Such ball maneuvering frequently incorporates contacting the ball with the foot portion of the playing figure to move the ball transversely of the playing field; however, with playing figures heretofore available in the prior art, such transverse movement was generally uncontrolled since the ball was rarely exactly positioned to permit deliberate transverse movement by the figure.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a playing figure for use in a table top game incorporating a foot portion adapted to permit controlled movement of the ball transversely of the playing field.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a playing figure for use in a table top game incorporating a foot portion adapted to permit controlled movement of the ball transversely of the playing field by providing means on the sides of the foot portion for contacting the ball at two spaced apart points on the surface of the ball thereby controlling the balls direction during such transverse motion.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a playing figure for use in a table top game incorporating a foot portion adapted to permit controlled movement of the ball transversely of the playing field by providing an indentation on each side of the foot portion.

These and other objects of the present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a playing figure incorporating the teachings of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation al view of a playing figure incorporating the teachings of the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the foot portion of FIGS. 1 and 2.

Referring now to the drawings, the playing figure is mounted on a shaft 11, which in turn, is mounted for 2 rotation aboutits own axis 12 and also for sliding movement longitudinally of the axis 12, as indicated by the arrow 13. The shaft 11 may be mounted, as shown and described in the above-mentioned patent to Brown, No. 2,832,596, or in any other convenient or conventional manner such as described in Pat. No. 3,574,350

2 to May or "3,724,851 to Cecchetti.

The figurine 10 is a caricature of afhuman and includes a foot portion 15 having a front and a back ball striking surface 16 and 17, respectively. The surfaces 16 and 17 may be smooth or may be provided with a grid pattern, as shown, to facilitate ball reaction characteristics during play. The surfaces 16 and 17 are preferably flat planar surfaces and are titled, as shown, so that they impart a forward rolling motion to the ball when contact is made with the ball. It will be obvious to those skilled in the art, that the surfaces can take other shapes and may be curved rather than flat.

As mentioned previously, when a player becomes skilled in the manipulation of the playing figures, it is frequently desirable to attempt to confuse the opponent by moving the ball transversely of the playing field prior to striking it toward the opponents goal. To permit controlled transverse movement of the ball, the foot 15, of the playing figure 10, includes indentations 20 and 21 in the sides 22 and 23, respectively. It may be seen that in the embodiment chosen for illustration, the identations 20 and 21 form ball-contacting edges, such as those shown at 25 and 26, which, when they contact the surface of the ball 30, contact said surface at two spaced apart points, thus providing a means for directional control during the transverse movement of the ball 30. The identations 20 and 21 are generally oval shaped and are of sufficient depth so that when the surface of the ball 30 is contacted by the side 22 or 23, the ball does not contact the bottom of the identation but is rather contacted by the aforementioned edges 25 and 26.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the shape of the indentation is not critical; indeed, no indentation is necessary if contact with the ball 30 is provided by two spaced apart ridges or protrusions (not shown) incorporated on each side, 22 and 23, of the foot portion 15 instead of the indentations.

In operation, the playing figure 10 is positioned transversely of the playing field in the direction shown by the arrow 13, by sliding the shaft 11 along its axis 12. The ball may be struck by rotating the shaft 11 (and thus, also rotating the playing figure 10) causing the playing figure to rotate in a direction such as that shown by the arrow 31 to thus strike the ball 30 causing the latter to be propelled in a direction generally longitudinally of the playing field toward the opponents goal. When the opportunity presents itself, the ball 30 may be moved transversely of the playing field by contacting the ball with the edges 25 and 26 of the indentation 21 and moving the playing figure l0 transversely. In this manner, the ball is moved in a controlled manner and in a desired transverse direction to a position where the playing figure may be disengaged from the ball and repositioned to strike the ball toward the opponents goal.

I claim:

1. In a table top game of the type having a playing deck defining a playing field, a ball movable on said playing field, a goal contiguous to said playing field into which said ball may be moved, a plurality of figures for striking said ball to impart movement thereto, and a a. a pair of substantially planar faces, each parallel to the axis of the shaft to which said figure is secured and canted relative to each other so that the distance between the faces increases as the distance from said shaft decreases; and

4 a b. a pair of substantially planar sides, each perpendicular to the axis of the shaft to which said figure is secured and parallel to each other, each of said sides having i. an indentation located at the central portion of I said side; and ii. an edge forming the intersection between said indentation and said side, said .edge simultaneously contactingsaid ball at two spaced apart points to prevent contact between said ball and said indentation, to impart a striking force to said ball and to produce movement of said ballin a direction generally transverse to said playing field. 

1. In a table top game of the type having a playing deck defining a playing field, a ball movable on said playing field, a goal contiguous to said playing field into which said ball may be moved, a plurality of figures for striking said ball to impart movement thereto, and a plurality of rotatable shafts mounted transversely over said playing field and being both rotatable about their respective axes and slidable along said axes, said figures being secured to said shafts causing each said figure to be rotatable about the axis of said shaft to which it is respectively secured and slidable along said axis, said figures each having a foot portion at a distance from said shaft for striking said ball, wherein the improvement comprises a foot portion including: a. a pair of substantially planar faces, each parallel to the axis of the shaft to which said figure is secured and canted relative to each other so that the distance between the faces increases as the distance from said shaft decreases; and b. a pair of substantially planar sides, each perpendicular to the axis of the shaft to which said figure is secured and parallel to each other, each of said sides having i. an indentation located at the central portion of said side; and ii. an edge forming the intersection between said indentation and said side, said edge simultaneously contacting said ball at two spaced apart points to prevent contact between said ball and said indentation, to impart a striking force to said ball and to produce movement of said ball in a direction generally transverse to said playing field. 